[Funding Alert] WayCool Foods Gets $5 Mn Debt Financing From IndusInd Bank Guaranteed By DFC The fund will be deployed through IndusInd Bank's Impact Investing division, which will support WayCool Foods' expansion plans
By Debarghya Sil •
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Chennai-based agritech startup WayCool Foods on Wednesday announced it has received $5.5 million debt financing from IndusInd Bank.
US government's development finance agency Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has extended 100 per cent guarantee to the company's latest round of fundraising, according to a statement by WayCool Foods. The loan is to be deployed through IndusInd Bank's Impact Investing division, which will support WayCool Foods' expansion plans.
WayCool Foods is planning to use the funds to introduce advanced technology, implement strict hygiene measures, and increase transportation efficiency to reduce food spoilage and improve farmer yields, thus contributing to food security, said the statement.
This will also allow the company to strengthen food distribution across south India.
In February, the agritech startup raised a funding of $32 million in Series C round led by Lightbox with participation from FMO and its existing investor LGT Lightstone Aspada.
Commenting on the latest funding, Karthik Jayaraman, co-Founder and CEO, WayCool Foods said, "WayCool has been steadily building necessary technology and operational capabilities to operate robust agrifood supply chains from soil to sale. We welcome DFC and IndusInd Bank as partners in this journey and believe that this partnership is an endorsement of WayCool's ability to lead transformation within the sector."
DFC provides financing to address critical challenges emerging across the world. It invests across sectors including energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and technology. On associating with WayCool Foods, Ajay Rao, director-social enterprise, finance team, DFC, said that DFC is proud to work with the agritech startup to solve some of the "pressing challenges" in the agriculture sector in India.
Founded in 2015, WayCool Foods procures, processes, and distributes a range of food products spanning over fresh produce, staples, and dairy products. It moves over 250 tonnes of food every day to 8,000 enterprise clients across south India.The company operates a soil-to-sale model, engaging deeply with a base of 40,000 farmers in more than 50 regions across India.
